50 years after Stonewall: Yuval Noah Harari on the new threats to LGBT rights (The Guardian)

Yuval Noah Harari · 22 Jun 2019

Yuval Noah Harari did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
History rarely moves in a straight line, so LGBT liberation will not inevitably spread around the world

Their wordsHistory rarely moves in a straight line. There is no reason to think that LGBT liberation will inevitably spread around the world, eventually reaching Saudi Arabia and Brunei.
Our reading
The era of LGBT liberation could be followed by an era of unprecedented persecution by ultra-nationalists

Their wordsThere are alarming signs that the era of LGBT liberation might also be followed by an era of unprecedented persecution. In particular, LGBT people might become the preferred targets for ultra-nationalist witch-hunts.
Our reading
Autocrats hate LGBT people because they blur boundaries and force people to think and choose

Their wordsBut LGBT people blur the boundaries, mix up identities, and force people to think and choose. No wonder autocrats hate them.
Our reading
Autocrats have long picked a weak minority, inflated it into a threat and promised to protect society from it

Their wordsThroughout history, autocrats have often singled out a weak minority, made it look far more powerful and dangerous than it really was, and then promised to protect society against this non-existent threat.
Our reading
New technology combined with conservative ideology could produce the most totalitarian regimes in history

Their wordsThe combination of revolutionary technologies with conservative ideologies could well lead to the creation of the most totalitarian regimes in history.
Our reading
Information technology and biotechnology could build either paradise or hell, depending on our political ideals

Their wordsIn the 21st century we could use information technology and biotechnology to build either paradise or hell, depending on our political ideals.
Our reading
The most important thing an individual can do against 21st-century dystopias is to join an organisation
Mental modelCollective action problems

Their wordsBut the most important thing is to join an organisation. Cooperation is what makes humans powerful.

Keep reading

The other pieces are the ones whose claims are worded most like this one's. That measures language, not agreement: they may argue the opposite.